THE FERNS 135 



true Flowering Plants which have for so long taken 

 the leading place in the vegetation of the Earth. 



CHAPTER V 



THE EVOLUTION OF THE HIGHER SPORE- 

 PLANTS THE FERNS 



WE have so far been considering the subject 

 of the Evolution of the Seed-plants, the question 

 which is of primary interest to us, because these 

 are the highest plants and beyond comparison the 

 most important in the Flora of the World as it 

 now is. The conclusion we have reached is that 

 the Seed-plants were derived, in very early 

 times (perhaps Lower Devonian, perhaps earlier) 

 from Spore-plants of the same main stock with 

 the Ferns. 



The Spore-plants, or Cryptogams, as they 

 are traditionally called (the old Linnean name, 

 implying that the sexual reproduction of these 

 plants was hidden, which is no longer the case), 

 are still with us, in large numbers. We cannot 

 attempt to deal with them all, but it will be of 

 interest to trace what we can of the evolution of 

 those groups of Spore-plants of which alone the 

 history is adequately known, namely, the higher 

 families, which stand nearest to the Seed-plants. 

 Their importance depends partly on this relation, 



